Blades of the Spirit
by HiroJiyuNaka
Summary: Naruto gains an interesting ability when two blades claim him as their own after the Mizuki incident. And who is this new Jounin instructor? Can the world handle two hyperactive knuckleheads? ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

AN: This is an AU for Naruto. This means that the timeline starts during the already established timeline in the canon, but then events take a different turn. I will be using Japanese words and terms a lot. I'll keep certain things consistent, like jutsu names, but otherwise it will be mostly during dialogue. I'll be sure to put translations at the end of each chapter where a new word or honorific shows up. Remember, this is my first story on FF, so be honest in your reviews. Enjoy!

Chapter 1 -

Uzumaki Naruto locked up his apartment door, the turning of the lock sliding his homemade barricades into place. They would do nothing against most jutsu if anyone really wanted to get in, but it would protect against the villagers that would normally break in and wreak the place. He turned around and looked up at the Hokage Monument. The Shodaime, Nidaime, Sandaime, and Yondaime Hokages' great stone faces staring out upon the village of Konohagakure.

"I'll be the next one. Definitely!" The blond said before adjusting the goggles around his forehead and dashing off for the Academy, and his, hopefully last test before becoming a genin.

* * *

Naruto sat down next to the dilapidated shed and opened the Forbidden Arts Scroll. Most of it he couldn't understand, but he had to try. Mizuki-sensei had told him he had to learn at least one of these techniques before anyone found him if he wanted to become a genin. So he set to work, mumbling under his breath. "Kage Bunshin…"

* * *

Naruto slid down the wall, exhausted. He managed to get one skill completely down, but the other one needed so much chakra control that he couldn't do it very well. At least the first one needed only one handsign, and he could even do it with kunai or similar objects in his hands. The other one, not needing any handsigns, causing the need for so much chakra control, he decided, he would show the instructor first, when they got here. Looking down at his hand and seeing it shake with exhaustion, he picked up the scroll again and decided to rest while reading more about his new techniques. Everything will help when the time comes to be tested.

* * *

The orange-clad boy looked up from his rest to see his homeroom teacher, Iruka-sensei, jump into the clearing with him. "I thought it would be you who'd find me, Iruka-sensei. I did it. I mastered two skills from the scroll, well, one, really, I'm still working on the other one. But that's enough to pass, right?" He finished, hopeful.

Iruka looked at the student in front of him, his clothes tattered, and the stolen Forbidden Arts Scroll lying on the ground next to him. Iruka stepped closer, clearly confused. "Naruto, what are you talking about? Do you know what that scroll is?"

Naruto stood and picked up the scroll. "Of course. Here you go. I'm sure you need this for anyone else who takes the backup test." He said, holding out the giant roll to his sensei.

A voice rang out. "Good job Naruto! Although, Iruka isn't your tester. Just hand the scroll over to me, and I'll pass you."

Naruto and Iruka looked up to see Mizuki with two giant shuriken strapped to his back. "Mizuki? What do you mean? You lied to Naruto to get the scroll, didn't you?" Naruto looked at his two sensei, not really listening after that. Once Mizuki said that the Kyuubi no Kitsune was sealed within him, he snapped back to attention. All of a sudden, Iruka was on all fours over him, a giant shuriken lodged in his back.

"NARUTO! RUN! TAKE THE SCROLL AND RUN! DON'T LET MIZUKI HAVE IT!"

Without thinking, Naruto ran past the scroll, a two-inch thick tendril of what appears to be concentrated chakra rushing out of his left hand and attaching to the strap of the Forbidden Arts Scroll, before pulling it into his hand. As he jumped into the trees, Naruto threw the strap around himself, slinging the scroll to his back.

* * *

Naruto watched as Mizuki reared his hand back, ready to bring the giant shuriken down on Iruka. Suddenly, Naruto appeared between them, the scroll at his side. "If you ever lay a hand on my sensei. I'LL KILL YOU."

Mizuki laughed. Mizuki stopped laughing. In fact, Mizuki stopped seeing, hearing, feeling, and thinking, as well. Mizuki was unconscious.

The thousands of Naruto clones in the clearing disappeared in clouds of smoke. Naruto suddenly had a memory of beating Mizuki senseless, but from thousands of different angles, and he promptly passed out.

AN: okay, there's the first chapter of my fic. I really hope its okay so far. Its really just introducing the first change, which I wanted to occur at this point in the storyline. Most of you probably don't remember, so ill refresh your memory. That two-inch thick tendril of chakra was NOT in the canon. He only learned the Kage Bunshin at this point in the canon. For those of you who are thinking so, that is NOT the same as chakra strings for controlling a puppet. Those are just as they sound. STRINGS!

I decided to let Naruto learn about clone training a lot earlier, but as you can guess, (and see next chapter) I've put a limitation on it.

Translations:

Hokage – literally, Fire Shadow. Used here to describe the leader of the shinobi forces in the Fire country, namely Konohagakure.

Shodaime – first. Used in a sentence: "The Shodaime Hokage helped found Konoha." Referring to the Kages.

Kage – literally, shadow. In the previous sentence, it describes the military leaders of the shinobi villages.

Nidaime – Second.

Sandaime – Third.

Yondaime – Fourth.

Konohagakure – "Village Hidden in the Leaves". Hereafter called Konoha, "Hidden Leaf Village"

-sensei – honorific towards a teacher.

Kage Bunshin – literally, "Shadow Clone" honestly, if you don't know what this jutsu does, you fail and should stop reading Naruto fanfics until you read or watch the manga/anime.

Kyuubi no Kitsune – Nine-Tailed Demon of the Fox. More commonly known as Kyuubi, "Nine-tails"

THOUGHTS! I LIVE FOR REVEIWS!


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I NEED INPUT! I don't have a beta reader, so seriously, tell me all of your thoughts! Okay, enjoy!

Chapter 2 –

Naruto awoke to light filtering in through the tree-tops, and Iruka's smiling face. "Hey, Naruto! Nice to see you woke up."

"IRUKA-SENSEI! Are you okay? I saw that shuriken and-" he stopped, for the memory brought up Mizuki's declaration. "I.. I am the Kyuubi?"

Iruka's smile vanished. "No." he said firmly, believing it with every fiber of his being. "You are Uzumaki Naruto. The Kyuubi was sealed inside you during its attack on Konoha, but you were born normal. You are not a monster. Just a container for one." He finished with a smile.

Naruto smiled as well, before he looked over at the bloody patch on the ground where Mizuki once lay, and frowned again. He knew the ANBU must have come and taken him while he was asleep. He wondered how much trouble he would get in for beating up an academy teacher before Iruka spoke again.

"He was using you, Naruto. He was a traitor. If anything comes of this, it will only be praise. Which reminds me. You learned the Kage Bunshin, didn't you?"

Naruto looked around for the Forbidden Arts Scroll, but it, too was missing. He wrote it off as the ANBU, again. He looked up at his sensei's serious face and nodded. "Yeah. And the Chakra Tendrils. But I'm still not as good as what the scroll said it could do."

Iruka stood and helped Naruto to his feet, as well. He couldn't believe it. The kid had learned two jonin-level techniques in less than two hours. "Well, Naruto. In light of recent events, There are going to be some changes around here." The chunin reached behind his head and untied his Leaf forehead protector. "Welcome to the ninja world, Naruto. You pass." He said with a smile as he tied his headband around Naruto's forehead.

* * *

Naruto had pocketed the headband Iruka had given him, wanting the fact that he had passed to be a secret. Tomorrow, he would have to go to the academy for the last time and be assigned teammates and a jonin instructor.

But right now, he was walking down the street next to Iruka, looking for a shinobi shop. Iruka had insisted that orange was not a suitable color for a ninja. Naruto hadn't protested. After all, the only reason he wore this outfit was that it was the only thing anyone would sell him, so that he would be an easier target. They were also looking for tools, as well. Naruto only had 3 rusty kunai to his name, and about a dozen dulled shuriken.

Finally Iruka guided him into a store labeled "Shinobi's Spirit". Inside the small shop it was revieled to be… just that. The ground floor seemed to just be the cash register, a few chairs, and three bookshelves filled to the brim with ninja guides, handbooks, and scrolls. There were two doorways, minus the doors, that lead to stairs, one going up, the other down underground. There was a door near the register, that said "bathroom" on it, and it was from here that a young woman with auburn hair tied in a ponytail emerged.

She looked at the boys and blushed, realizing that hey had just seen her exit the toilet. She hurried over to the counter that the register was on and threw on a store apron. "C-can I help you with anything?"

Naruto stepped up and asked the same, blunt question he asks every shop the first time he enters. "I am Uzumaki Naruto, will you accept my business?"

The shopkeeper seemed confused. "Uhm. I'm Yoko, and if you've got money, I guess I'd be an idiot not to?"

Naruto looked at the confusion on her soft face, and smiled. "Sorry if I seem gruff, most people won't sell to me. It's nice to meet you Yoko. Do you have shinobi wear, and weapons?"

Yoko smiled again, then realization dawned on her. This was the boy she always saw tortured in the streets. Her smile turned sympathetic for a moment before she grinned devilishly. "Do I have shinobi wear and weapons? Which one to you wanna look at first?"

Iruka spoke up. "Clothes. As you can see, he desperately needs it." Naruto smiled sheepishly. He knew it was true.

Yoko nodded, looking at Naruto critically. "Hm... well, let's go upstairs then." Barely was this out of her mouth before she turned around and walked purposefully through the right doorway and up the stairs, Iruka and Naruto trailing behind her.

They emerged into a room that seemed to span not only across the room below, but also atop the stores immediately around it. The whole room was filled with clothes. All of them shinobi, seemingly separated into male and female. Yoko lead them over to the male side of the room and helped Naruto pick out about a dozen outfits before ushering him off to the changing rooms.

An hour (and three more trips to the changing rooms) later, and Naruto emerged.

The outfit was eye-catching, but only in the light. He wore a black sleeveless muscle shirt with a maroon sash running from his right shoulder to above his left hip, and a dark blue jacket over it, unzipped. The jacket was just tight enough around the shoulders to ensure it wouldn't slip down his arms at high speeds, while still allowing a full range of motion, and the sleeves went halfway down his forearms. It wasn't thick, which he said was okay. Naruto's body was always a few degrees higher than it needed to be, anyways, which he now suspected was due to the Kyuubi within him. The pants were typical shinobi pants, black with discreetly padded knees, and he wore his kunai holster in its usual place, around his right thigh, his tool pouch set behind his left hip, as well. He had on a pair of shinobi sandals, like his old ones, only these were black.

Iruka looked at him, incredulous. Yoko had more of a calculating stare on her face as she studied Naruto's final choice. "Interesting. I like it!" She finally decided, and smiled.

Naruto looked at his old orange jacket. He stared at the swirling whirlpool design on the back. He somehow felt naked without it.

Yoko noticed the look, and picked up the jumpsuit. "I think I can find a way to get this on there. Take off your new jacket." He complied, and watched Yoko take the two behind a curtain. A few minutes later, and she came out again. "Here." She held up the blue jacket with its back facing him, exposing the whirlpool design sewn onto it.

"Yoko-chan! That's perfect!" Naruto nearly whoops for joy as he takes the jacket and slips it on again, suddenly feeling much better about his decision.

Yoko blushes a bit at the honorific, but otherwise ignores it. "I'm glad, but we're not done are we? You still need weapons, right?"

Naruto reaches into his tool pouch and pulls out a money purse shaped like a toad. He opens it and counts it's contents. "Uhm. I guess I can get a few kunai and shuriken as well as the four copies of this outfit. I have some throw-away training clothes at home, so I don't need to worry about that."

Iruka spoke up for the first time since Naruto emerged. "Well, you can't use the tools you have, so I'd say yes, we do need some."

Yoko smiled wide. "Great! Let's go!" She said before bounding down the stairs with Naruto and Iruka at her heels. She kept going down through the left doorway and they entered a room at least as big at the top floor, if not bigger. Shelves upon shelves of glinting metal. Yoko led the through the shelves to the standard stuff, and as she and Iruka got into a heated debate about the best type of shuriken, Naruto wandered off to the swords.

He looked around at them with an interested stare. He had always been interested in using a sword, but never learned how, and didn't know what kind he would even be able to use. Suddenly he stopped and turned. Two katanas, each about two feet in blade length, if the sheathes were any indicator. As far as Naruto knew, that was fairly short for a katana, but he figured if there were two meant to be used in tandem, it was normal. The sheaths were joined in the middle, indicating that the blades were meant to be worn on one's back. He took them down and examined the set, surprised at how light the whole thing was.

The sheathes were both black, but one had a golden flame design at the opening. The other had silver rings of what looked like a lightning design in the same place. He held the sheathes with his left hand and reached for the handle of the blade in the silver-embossed sheathe with his right. As he exposed the first inch of the blade, he was hit with a static shock, making him jump slightly before continuing.

The blade itself was also silver, like the decorations on its sheathe. In his hand, it felt almost wild, but subdued, as though it were a living animal that would accept only him as its master. He slid the katana back into its sheathe and switched hands, this time grabbing the handle of the golden-embossed sheathe. This time when the first inch was pulled out, a sharp heat struck his fingers, much like if he put out a candle with his bare hand.

Again, the katana matched the filigree on the sheathe. The blade was a golden color, and it emanated a comfortable warmth, as though it was happy just being in his hand. Again, he slid the katana back into its sheathe. He turns around to find Yoko's jaw hanging loose, her eyes wide.

"Uhm… is something wrong?"

Yoko brought herself out of her stupor. "N-N-Naruto? Did you have any trouble drawing those katana?"

The blond jinchuriki looked down at the swords in his hands. "well, one shocked me, and the other burned me a little, but that's it. Why?"

Yoko looked thoughtful for a moment. "Naruto. Have you ever heard of a village in the Wind Country called Hiri?" He shook his head. "They are famous for making much of the worlds chakra blades. Forging metal that reacts or channels chakra is easy for them." Naruto nodded. He had heard of such blades, and even seen a few before. "But a few select people in that town banded together and decided to make blades that did more than just react to chakra. They began forging weapons that were almost sentient, and definitely conscious. Things went so far that eventually the weapons they were making actually chose their wielders." Naruto looked down at the katanas in his hand. "Yes, Naruto. Those are Hirian katanas. And they seem to have chosen you."

Naruto looked up at Yoko, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "So… These swords think I'm… what, worthy? That's so cool!"

Yoko grinned. "I had been hoping someone, ANBU, maybe, would come by and finally unsheathe those. I'm glad they finally found an owner. It must have been lonely rejecting person after person, waiting for the right one to come along." She finished by stroking the silver sheathe.

Naruto looked at each katana in turn before looking up at Yoko with a grin. "How much?"

"For the one to finally open them? Free. Consider it a graduation present." She answered with a friendly smile.

Iruka finally spoke up. "Naruto, how are you going to carry those?"

Before he could answer, Yoko interrupted. "Ill take care of that. Hand me the blades, your jacket, and the sash." Once again, Naruto complies, and the auburn-haired shopkeeper disappears into the back of the room for a while. Iruka and Naruto wrap up his and Yoko's selections for kunai and shuriken, as well as some ninja wire, and explosive tags.

Yoko came back with everything shortly after, and explained that the swords now attached to the back of the sash, and the jacket went on over it, the katanas poking through some slits in the back of the jacket, just below the neck, exposed down to the decorations on the sheathes. He tried on the combination, experimentally slipping the jacket on and off until he felt comfortable that he could to it easily before testing ease of access for the katanas. Satisfied, he grinned, and grabbed Yoko into a hug, thanking her over and over for all she's done for him today.

A blushing Yoko pried herself from the boy's grip and went to modify the other jackets and sashes he was buying the same way, also remembering to put the whirlpool on the back.

When all was said and done, Iruka and Naruto were watching Yoko ring up the items on the ground floor. Iruka slid a few blank scrolls and a couple books on sealing onto the counter as well.

When Naruto looked at him, he said with a knowing smile, "What, did you think I didn't know what you had in mind when you chose that particular kind of sash? This should get you some basic seals by your first real mission. Don't worry, I'm paying for these. It's MY graduation present." This time it was Iruka's turn to be smothered.

Naruto bid goodbye to his former sensei, and headed off to his apartment. Unbolting the door and walking inside, he hung up his new outfits and opened up the first sealing book. Suddenly remembering the aftermath of his fight with Mizuki and what the Forbidden Arts Scroll had said about Kage Bunshins. Quickly making two clones, he has them start on reading the books, while he pulls out a kunai. He extended a chakra Tendril from his right palm, and began flipping the kunai using only the Tendril. "Got to get my control up if I want to use this to its fullest." He mumbles more to himself than anyone else.

Another hour of this and it had gotten dark, so he put the kunai away, and dispelled his clones, which had finished the books and were working on the Tendrils with him. Thankfully, he didn't get even a headache from the miniscule amount of memory that had rushed into his mind from just two clones, but he did have to sift through the information in those books for any of it to make sense. As he did this, he performed his nightly ritual of instant ramen, brush teeth, shower, and finally pajamas. By the time he crawled into bed, he felt confident that he could make a few basic containment seals on his new scrolls and possibly on his sash. The last thought that drifted through his mind before he fell asleep was who would be on his team tomorrow.

AN: Well, it's 5:03 in the morning. I'm going to bed. GIVE ME REVIEWS! IM SERIOUS!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Not much to say here, enjoy!

Chapter 3 –

Naruto woke up to the light filtering in through his window. He looked around his apartment and sighed. He was glad the old man could get him his own place at all, but it was still a dump.

He slid out of bed and dropped his pajamas. Setting a cup of instant ramen on the stove, he picked up an empty scroll and his inkwell. Dipping his pinky in, he began drawing a simple storage seal in the beginning of the scroll. By the time he sat down and ate his breakfast, he had gotten three reusable seals in one of the scrolls, and one more on his sash. He sealed the scroll into the sash and got dressed, his new headband resting on his brow, and his Hirian katanas on his back under his jacket.

Locking up his apartment, he set off down the street at a leisurely walk. After all, he was an hour earlier than he needed to be. On his way to the academy, Yamanaka Mei and Inoichi saw him walking, and did a double take.

"Naruto?" Inoichi asked, incredulous.

Naruto looked over at the clan head and his wife. "Oh! Yamanaka-san! How are you?"

Inoichi shook his head. The boy just didn't get it. "I've told you time and time again. It's Inoichi if anything. I'm good, we were just about to open the flower shop. What are those on your back?"

The demon container remembered that Inoichi was a swordsman and grinned. "Hey Yama- Inoichi. Do you think you could teach me how to use these?" He punctuated his question by drawing both blades, the golden one in his left hand, silver in his right.

Mr. Yamanaka looked at the blades critically. "I certainly could. Swords are a passion of mine, you know."

Mrs. Yamanaka finally got over her shock and said, "Naruto, I like the new outfit! You look very handsome in it." Naruto blushed a bit and rubbed the back of his head.

Inoichi looked back up at the boy's face. "I see you passed your test the other day, then?"

Naruto's grin grew wider. "YEP! It was under special circumstances, but I think it's safe to say that I passed more impressively than anyone else." As he said this, he slid his katanas back in their sheathes, with surprising ease. The tips seemed to guide themselves.

Inoichi laughed. "Well, when you work out a training schedule with your new instructor come see me. We'll see about teaching you how to use those."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah! I better, go, I was gonna go see old man Hokage before heading off to the academy." He waved at them and walked away.

* * *

Naruto knocked on the door to the Hokage's office. Hearing a "Come in." from the room, he opened the door and stepped in.

"Hey old man! How ya doing?" He grinned.

Sarutobi looked up from his desk and at the blonde. "Naruto! Congratulations on passing. You'll be happy to know that Mizuki is in a metal box right now, waiting to be interrogated."

Naruto smiled faintly. "That's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. Old man… Why didn't anyone tell me that I have the Kyuubi sealed inside me?"

The Third Hokage's face fell instantly. "Naruto.. I'm so sorry…"

"Why's that, old man? I'm not mad." Sarutobi looked up, surprised. "I was just wondering why the older generation was obviously told the secret, and not me. It explains a lot, really. I feel better, at least knowing WHY the village seems to hate me." He gave off a genuine smile, completely throwing the Third for a loop. "But that's really not why I came here." He drew his katanas and set them on the desk in front of him. "What can you tell me about Hirian weapons?"

The Hokage stared at the swords on his desk. "How did you get these, Naruto?

Naruto went into the story of how the blades had chosen him. From the pull in his chest that made him stop and examine them in the first place, to the spark and burn that hit him when he opened them, finally ending on Yoko's own tale of the village of Hiri.

Sarutobi looked at the blades then back at Naruto. "I don't know much about Spirit weapons, which is what these are, but one thing I have heard is that they can alter their owner's chakra nature. You are aware of the five basic chakra natures, yes?"

Naruto nodded. "Fire, wind, lightning, water, earth." Despite appearances, he really did learn in the academy. He had figured out a long time ago that he could put himself into a sleep-state and get nearly all of the benefits of a nap, while still being aware of what was going on around him. Aparently a ninja tactic, he later had learned. That didn't stop Iruka from throwing books at him, of course.

The Third Hokage nodded as well. "Yes." He reached into a drawer in his desk and fished around for a moment before drawing a small slip of paper. "This is chakra paper. Channel your chakra into it, and it will reveal what nature your chakra has. If it is wind, the paper will split. Fire it will burst into flames, lightning it will wrinkle, water it will get soggy, earth it will turn to dust. Take it, and channel some chakra into it."

Naruto did so, and a small cloud of smoke appeared. Once it cleared, he held in his hand, a split sheet of the chakra paper, one half was wrinkled, the other was slightly on fire.

The Hokage looked much less surprised than Naruto, but there was still shock on his face. "I thought so. You probably had an original nature of wind, but those blades gave you an additional nature in fire and lightning. The paper would only have shown your strongest nature, but it seems they are all equally as strong within you."

Naruto looked down at the katanas. He picked each of them up, silver in his left hand, gold in his right. Somehow it felt wrong. So he switched the order with the help of a couple Tendrils. Sarutobi nearly choked when he saw how deftly the Chakra Tendrils were being used. "Naruto! Form this handsign for me, please. Use the Tendrils to keep the katanas within reach." As he said this, he brought his hands together, palms touching and fingers laced.

Naruto did so, and the Tendrils flickered once, before solidifying again, seemingly coming out of the back of his hands. "What was that about old man?"

Sarutobi ignored him and fished around in his desk again, before coming back up with three scrolls, one yellow-white, one silver, the last red. "These are elemental scrolls. They contain instructions for wind, lightning, and fire jutsu. They are only basic ones, but I'm sure that won't bother you." He finished with a smile.

Naruto gaped. "O-OF COURSE NOT! THANK YOU OLD MAN, YOU ROCK! But wait... Inoichi was going to teach me how to use my swords, I figured I wouldn't be able to use jutsu very easily if I was going to be a swordsman."

The wizened Hokage chuckled. "Naruto, that's the beauty of you having such control over your Tendrils. You can use kenjutsu with your taijutsu, then just hold your katanas with Tendrils and form handsigns for ninjutsu." He glanced at the clock. "Naruto, shouldn't you be at the academy getting assigned a team?"

Naruto would have fallen over at his stupidity about the handsigns, but the realization of how late it was made him decide he didn't even have time for a facepalm. "CRAP! You're right! Thanks for the scrolls, old man, but I gotta go!" He had two Tendrils sheathe the swords while he put his hand over the seal on his sash, summoning the storage scroll, and unraveled it a bit. Sealing the three jutsu scrolls into his own, and resealing that one into his sash, he turned and ran out the door, once again thanking the Hokage still sitting at his desk.

"He even has his father's proficiency at sealing… That kid… He never stops amazing me. I think I should change his team, though. I don't think he would get along with the people I have him set up with… Looks like he won't need Inoichi's help learning those blades."

* * *

Naruto walked into his classroom. There were the classmates he knew, as well as a few he didn't.

Inuzuka Kiba was the first to see him. Well, smell him, really. "Hey Naruto! This room is reserved for the ones who passed. What are you doing here?"

Naruto ginned at his sorta-friend. The dog-user had never been particularly mean to him. Once again, he was suddenly able to write it off as the fact that he probably smelled like a fox to Kiba and his partner, Akamaru, and foxes are a part of the canine family. 'I think...' "Look at the headband, Kiba! I'm a ninja, now."

Kiba looked at him, really for the first time. Not only did he see the headband that adorned the boy's forehead, but he also noticed the new outfit, and swords on his back. "Whoa. Naruto. Nice threads, man! Love the swords, too. You know how to use them?"

Naruto walked over and leaned against the desk Kiba was sitting at. "Not really, but I'm learning. I found a teacher, so as soon as I get the training schedule from my Jounin instructor, I'll start learning." He was about to go start bragging about the jutsu he was planning on learning, as well, but decided it would be better to keep his mouth shut until he found out he could even use them.

"Okay, well cool. Hey, I'll see ya later, okay?" Kiba turned back to the boy next to him, Shino Aburame, and continued trying to engage him in conversation.

Naruto turned and climbed to the next tier of desks. "Hi Ino! Looking good, today." He said without stopping. "Shikamaru, Choji." He nodded to each of them as he says their names.

Ino nearly choked when he complimented her. She really did choke when she saw his new clothes. Her mom had been right this morning, he did look very handsome. Not that she was going to be the one to say that, of course.

Naruto sat down next to Haruno Sakura, the pink-haired girl was currently trying to get a rise out of Uchiha Sasuke, even going so far as opening up her dress a bit, exposing much her of budding breasts, and resting her hand on the raven-haired boy's thigh.

Naruto sighed. "Sakura-chan, give it up. It's obvious that Saskue-teme's gay." He grinned inwardly. Sasuke was a complicated subject. When they were younger, they had been friends. Then, even before his clan had been wiped out, which was not a secret, he suddenly grew cold towards the jinchuriki. Saying that it was unbecoming for an Uchiha to associate themselves with a lesser mortal. He shook the thoughts out of his head. He wanted Sasuke as a friend again, but first he had to break him out of his emotional shell, and his pride.

Sasuke gave him what he wanted. He spun around and stood up, nearly tripping over the chair in the process. "WHAT? HOW COULD YOU POSSIBY THINK THAT, DOBE?" His defensive tone did nothing to dissuade the gathering crowd.

Naruto kept his face from breaking into a smile. If he wanted this done right, he had to seem serious. "Well, it's just that you get hit on like 80 times a day, by all these beautiful girls, like Sakura-chan, and Ino-chan," he threw in the last honorific for believability, and the gasp from behind him told him it had the desired effect, "and you do absolutely nothing about it." He saw a counter-argument forming on the Uchiha's lips, and continued. "Before you say anything, I've heard you mumbling to yourself while training. I know you want to kill your brother as revenge for the clan he murdered. But you've got to see it from the last Uchiha's point of view."

"I AM the last Uchiha! That asshole Itachi is no longer a part of my clan! So it's up to ME to restore it!"

Naruto couldn't suppress a twinge of a smile this time. That was exactly the desired response. This was going better than he could have hoped. "Restore it? Dude. You are probably classified under the Clan Restoration Act, especially because of the Sharingan. And yet, you push away every girl who flat out announces that they want to have your baby?" Most of the girls in the room blush and look down, suddenly realizing how pathetic they must have sounded. "Sounds to me like you don't want to restore your clan. Sounds to me like you're just an arrogant, gay orphan with an obsession with his brother." He turned back to the front, pretending to be suddenly disinterested in the conversation.

Sakura turned to Sasuke with tears in her eyes. "S-Sasuke-kun? A-Are you really… g-gay?" She says, holding back sobs.

Sasuke looks down at her, then around at the room. Similar looks were on most of the girls' faces. "THAT DOBE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT!" Iruka walks into the classroom. "I AM NOT GAY!"

Iruka looks up at the Uchiha, surprised. He quickly regains his composure and decides to give one last poke at his former student. "Sasuke, it really doesn't matter who you like, it won't help your arrogance and self-centeredness." He says this in an off-hand kind of tone, waving his hand dismissively.

Naruto held back his laughter with god-like fortitude. He couldn't have asked for a better end to the conversation!

Everyone immediately took their seats with the arrival of their teacher, Sasuke back in his former position, but with a stare much more intense, as though he really were trying to look a hole through the far wall.

Iruka looked up at the genin before him. If only they knew that only a third of them were going to pass the next test. It saddens him that he has to lie to them, but that's just how it is. "Now, I will assign your teams. I want to congratulate each and every one of you on graduating from the academy." He began to list off the new teams.

* * *

"…and Karashi Hino as your jonin instructor. Team 7 will be Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Fuumin Kina, with Hatake Kakashi as yoru Jounin instructor. Team 8 will be Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino, with Yuhi Kurenai as your Jounin instructor. Team 9 is still in circulation. Team 10 will be Akimichi Choji, Grandur Jiules, and Boken Hamatsu, with Sarutobi Asuma as your Jounin instructor. Team 11 is still in circulation. Team 12 will be Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Uzumaki Naruto, with Joharo Hayate as your Jounin instructor." When he got to Team 12, Ino was about to complain loudly about her teammates, but then her mother's voice floated into her head from that morning. _"Ino, if you get Naruto Uzumaki on your team, you should consider yourself lucky."_ When Ino asked why, she looked at her seriously, and said, _"That boy will protect you till the ends of the earth if you show him friendship. He is by far the most loyal person I know."_ She figured that her mother was never wrong as far as she could remember, so Ino kept her mouth shut.

Iruka had finished calling out the teams and most of the class had been picked up by their new instructors. Teams 12 and 7 were the only ones still in the room.

Ino was pacing around, rambling on about how an hour of lateness is unacceptable. Shikamaru was watching Naruto with interest. He had never seen the blonde read before.

Naruto had unsealed the lightning scroll Sarutobi had given him, and was currently deeply involved with it.

The Lightning Dragon looked powerful, but he wasn't sure he could do it without practice, so he rewound to the very beginning. He was impressed that simple physical training while running lightning-enhanced chakra through his body would make him naturally faster. He would definitely have to try that. Deciding that the Electric Blast, a single, conductible bolt of lightning from his fingertips, was his best bet, he memorized the 5 handsigns and put the scroll away.

He was about to take out the wind one, when the door opened, and in walked a man. The man was wearing dark shinobi clothes, and had a sword strapped to his back. His dark hair hung down to his shoulders, and he was chewing on a senbon needle. "Team 12?" The genin nodded. "Meet me at training ground 12." He man said simply before disappearing in a swirl of leaves, a shushin.

Ino looked at her teammates and shrugged before walking out the door, Naruto and Shikamaru in tow. Leaving the future Team 7 alone to wait in agony.

AN: Did you guys like what I did with the scene between Naruto and Sasuke? I did. I'm probably gonna get some hate mail for the team change-up, but don't worry. I have a reason. I'm not sure how I'm going to PRESENT that reason, but oh well. Wave Arc won't start for a couple more chapters, probably. REVEIWS!

Translations:

-teme – bastard, basically. It's really just a general insult, not the dictionary definition of bastard.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Didn't start this one as early as I should have. Oh well. I know you guys are patient. The idea for the Charka Tendrils. I read it in a fanfic once under a different name, and on there it was just a string. If I knew the author or the title of the fanfic, I would give them credit, but since I don't know, I'll say that the original idea was not mine, even though I altered the description to fit my needs. The string he created was only strong enough to levitate a kunai, and I needed something stronger for my intentions, which I reveiled last chapter.

I tried to come up with a good test for the team, since I didn't want to do the "land one hit on me" or the bell test, and I think I came up with an entirely new idea for it, so it's there, hope you like it.

Chapter 4 –

Naruto and his new team walked into training ground 12 to find the jonin leaning up against a tree, chewing on his senbon. He waved them over and Naruto leaned against a nearby training post. Ino opted to sit on a second one, and Shikamaru pretty much just fell backward and lay on the grass.

Hayate looked at the three of them. _'The whiskered one has a look of indifference, but that's just a mask. I can't see what's underneath, though. The girl seems irritated, probably by her teammates. The dark haired boy keeps glancing at the whiskered one with curiosity. Looks like this isn't Whiskers' normal behavior. Heh. Whiskers. That'll make a fine code name if they pass tomorrow's test.'_

He coughed. "Alright, I'm sure you all know each other, but how well? Why don't we introduce ourselves? I'll start. My name is Joharo Hayate. I like kenjutsu, barbeque, and chewing on things that won't break easily. I dislike people who hide behind genjutsu, non-team players, and the color orange." Naruto sighed, silently thanking Iruka and Yoko once again for the new clothes. "My hobbies are caring for my swords, training, and spending nights under the stars. My dream is to show the world that the Seven Great Swordsman of the Mist are not the only swordsman that deserve mention." He looked at his three new charges. "Okay, dark hair, your turn."

Shikamaru sighed, but complied. "Troublesome… My name is Nara Shikamaru. I like clouds, sleeping, and shogi. I dislike loud people, and those who hurt my friends." This last comment was accompanied by a slight wave of killing intent. Not really directed anywhere, but still unexpected. "My hobbies are sleeping, watching the sky, playing shogi, and learning about my family's ninjutsu. My dream... I really don't have one at the moment."

Hayate nodded, that was more or less what he had read in the boy's file. He turned to the girl sitting on the post. "Creepily skinny girl with the weird face. Your turn."

Ino was about to protest when, surprisingly, Naruto beat her to it. He had unsheathed his silver katana, and held it out towards their sensei. "I would really appreciate it if you didn't lie about my teammates. I'm sure you would too, seeing as doing so might cause the loss of a limb." Despite having an obvious experience disadvantage against the dark haired jonin, he held his ground, and his voice held nothing but seriousness.

Ino was surprised, to say the least. He was always protective. She remembered witnessing him rush in to defend a 5-year-old Hinata Hyuuga from three kids making fun of her for her eyes. He, who had never even met the girl, put himself in front of a punch for the heiress. Now he was defending Ino's beauty and threatening his sensei for her. Suddenly she realized that, once again, her mom had been right about the boy. If he reacted this strongly to a simple insult, she could only imagine what he would do should any of his friends be in danger on the battlefield.

Then she felt it. Another wave of killing intent, only stronger this time. She wasn't scared by that, she sensed that it was directed at someone else, and that she had just gotten a glancing blow.

She was scared because it was originating from Naruto, and was directed at Hayate. Fearing a confrontation on her account, she quickly leapt off her stump to Naruto's side, and put her hand on his raised sword arm, lowering it. "N-Naruto. It's okay, you don't have to get so worked up about it." She said, feeling the killing intent vanish almost immediately. "He obviously is a lazy sensei who failed to find out our names beforehand, and probably has diarrhea of the mouth."

Naruto smirked at this, and sheathed his blade, once again leaning against the post. "Well, if you're okay with it, I won't kill him. Now, are you going to answer him? I admit, I don't know as much about you as I should, either."

Ino nodded. "Well. My name is Yamanaka Ino. I like gardening, dango, reading, and hanging out with my friends. I dislike working at my family's flower shop and losing. My hobbies are gardening and reading. My dream is to-" She suddenly stopped. She had only ever had one dream, and that was to marry Sasuke. But she realized that his name hadn't turned up once that entire speech. Was he really so far from her mind right now? He wasn't really all that handsome, when she really thought about it. Hell, Naruto was better looking than him, at least now. He certainly didn't have a charming personality, or any personality for that matter. No, she decided. Her dream wasn't to marry Sasuke. But if that wasn't it, than what was? "… I guess I really don't have one…" She finished, crestfallen. She knew Naruto had a dream, he announced it almost every day. She was sure he thought less of her now for not having one, herself. _'Wait a minute! What the fuck am I doing, caring what Naruto thinks? So what, if he's a hunk now, that doesn't mean he's changed his personality. He's still a dobe. A hunky dobe.'_ Her mind almost choked when it noticed that it had called Naruto a hunk, twice. She shook herself free of the traitorous thoughts as a buzzing in her ears told her that her sensei was talking again.

'_That's… not really what I expected… I wonder what broke her from the Uchiha fan club.'_ "Okay, Whiskers. You're up."

Naruto smirked. "Yosh. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, good people, and learning new things. I dislike arrogant people, and those who judge people based on something they have no control over. My hobbies are training, and hanging out with the couple friends I have. My dream is to become Hokage and show everyone who I am." Hayate nodded, about to speak again, when Naruto continued. "But not just for that." He suddenly took on a serious tone that made you have complete faith in his words. "I'm not going to become Hokage just for my own benefit. I will lead the village to protect those precious to me."

'_That's a little more than what I read. He seems to be more mature than his file let on.'_ Hayate looked at his genin. "Okay. I want you all to meet me back here tomorrow at 8 am sharp for your genin test."

Ino went into full indignant mode. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, GENIN TEST? We already took our test, that's why we're here, sensei!"

Hayate smiled. "That was just to weed out the unworthy. This test will determine weather or not you are really ready to be ninja. Tomorrow. 8 am. And bring everything you need for battle." Before anyone could protest again, he shushined away.

Naruto sighed. He honestly hadn't expected this. He looked over at his teammates. "Anyone want to train with me? We'll probably have our work cut out for us tomorrow." He tried to put as logical a tone to it as possible. As much as he fully expected them to turn him down, he still felt he should ask.

Ino looked at him oddly. She was about to tell him off for some reason she was sure she'd make up in the middle of her rant, when she finally noticed him. His posture seemed almost bored. His expression said that he didn't even expect them to consider it. She was about to accept out of the pure desire to prove him wrong, when Shikamaru beat her to it.

"That's a good idea Naruto. Building some form of teamwork before the test would be a smart move. I'll train with you. Ino, you coming, too?"

She nodded, and sputtered a little before answering. "Y-Yeah! Sounds good to me."

Naruto nodded. "Okay, let's start!"

All Ino could get out was a "Wha…" before Naruto drew his blades and lunged clumsily at Shikamaru, who dodged easily. The three of them launched into a three-way spar for several hours.

* * *

Naruto stumbled into his apartment. He had no idea how talented Ino was with explosives. At least he managed to keep lightning chakra running through him during the spar, and he could feel the tightness in his muscles. He knew that next time he would be a bit faster.

Dropping his katanas next to his bed, he unsealed his wind, fire, and lightning scrolls and created a few clones to keep reading them, while he himself made a few more seals in the scroll that held them, as practice.

An hour later, with his clones dispelled, Naruto collapsed onto his bed after his ritual, and slept peacefully.

* * *

Naruto tried, and failed, to fight against the sunlight falling through his window. Groaning, he sat up and threw some ramen on the stove to cook. He resealed all of his scrolls into his sash. Holding the sash in his hands, he couldn't believe how durable it was. Yoko had taken the time to explain to him that a seal just behind his right shoulder allowed the fabric to repair itself by leeching a tiny bit of chakra from him. He knew that chunnin flak jackets were made similarly, and felt so lucky that he had something like this as a genin.

His ramen comfortably in his belly, he finished getting dressed and locked up his apartment.

Naruto arrived at training ground 12 to find Ino and Shikamaru already waiting. "Hey guys! Where's Hayate-sensei?"

Shikamaru looked away from the clouds long enough to say he didn't know before turning back to his favorite pastime.

As though on cue (when is it ever not?) Joharo Hayate suddenly shushined into existence right in front of them. "Alright, let's get this over with. I want you all to come at me with any and all means you have. Your objective?" The jonin takes a small scroll from his jacket and shows it to them. "You have to get this off of my person." He slides the scroll back into it's pocket. "by noon. If you fail, you will be sent back to the academy." Both Ino and Naruto were about to protest, but he held up his hand in silence. "I have the right, and I will use it. If you do not want this to happen, I suggest you come at me with the intent to kill." He looked at them momentarily. "BEGIN!"

Instantly, all three genin, even the one previously laying on the ground, jumped into the surrounding foliage.

'_This should be interesting.'_

In a nearby tree, Ino was waiting for Hayate to stop pacing around so she could catch him in her Mind Transfer Jutsu. It was slow-moving, and she really couldn't chance missing. She felt Shikamaru land softly beside her.

"It won't work, you know." Ino looked at him, confused. "Sensei is too smart for that. He knows your jutsu's weakness. He's not going to stop moving, and he's not going to leave a direction unlooked for long, to counter my jutsu. Come on, let's go meet up with Naruto." Without a word, he dashed off, away from Hayate, Ino following after minor hesitation.

AN: I ended it before I thought I would. It took so long just to get here, im ashamed. I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS FOR LATER! And yet I can't get past this one scene. I'm gonna work on another fanfic for a while. I may or may not post it.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Hey, remember when Sasuke-hime used Fireball Jutsu for the first time? Kakashi was all "A GENIN SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DO THIS!" It makes me wonder. All of the Konoha 9, as well as the genin for the other villages, were really good at what they did even at the beginning. Chouji was already really skilled at his expansion jutsu, Shikamaru could use Shadow Strangle during the chase after Sasuke, Kiba had already mastered the basic Inuzuka beast ninjutsu without a soldier pill, the Tsuuga, and was good enough with it that he could sync with Akamaru to make the Gatsuuga, need I go on? I never understood why Kakashi was so surprised about Sasuke using one of the most basic fire jutsu when his clan was KNOWN for their overwhelming affinity for fire. Need I remind you all that even without a significant affinity for a certain chakra, ANYONE WHO CAN MOLD CHAKRA AND REMEMBER HANDSIGNS are able to learn the simplest of each element. After all, I highly doubt the Kakashi has an affinity for ALL five elements…. Seeing as how he said so himself in the manga during the Rasenshuriken training that even with the Sharingan copying techniques, he "can't perform the more advanced jutsu of an element I don't have an affinity for."

Okay, long-ish rant ended. Don't really know where that came from, just something I had been thinking about. The first fight scene actually written out is about the be exposed, so grab your popcorn and check your diapers cause I'm about to make you pee your pants out of sheer exposure to awesomeness.

Chapter 5 –

Hayate suddenly pulled the sword on his back free from its containment to block a sluggish horizontal swipe from a golden short sword. The owner of the offending blade, one Uzumaki Naruto, grimaced at his failed sneak attack before jumping backward. Hayate strengthened his stance when he saw the glare in the kid's sapphire eyes.

Naruto ran at his sensei, the silver blade in his right hand cocked and ready for a thrust attack, while the one in his left hand trailed lazily behind him. Hayate saw this and realized that the boy was barely used to one sword, using both at the same time was obviously going to be out of the question at least in this fight. He swiftly deflected the thrust and was about to deliver a right punch to the boy's face when he glimpsed a flash off to his right and was forced to grab Naruto's wrist before the golden blade's pommel could made contact with his temple. He cursed on the inside for assuming too much about the genin's posture while running at him, but cursed aloud(and quite colorfully) when he felt a knee make contact with his abdomen.

Naruto jumped back once more, watching his sensei for his next move. Hayate was more than happy to comply, as he dashes forward and, with the back of his blade, so as not to cleave the boy in half, goes for a horizontal slam into Naruto's chest. Or at least, that's what he meant to do. As the Naruto in front of him poofed into smoke, he quickly realized that the jinchuriki was already standing off to the side, forming hand signs with his blades stuck in the ground. Naruto figured he might as well keep as much as he could hidden from his sensei now, hence the lack of Chakra Tendrils being used. Naruto finished his set-up before calling out the name of his jutsu. "**FUUTON: DAITOPPA**** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)**!" Suddenly, a great blast of wind was summoned from inside the blonde, and spat at the jounin. Hayate would have none of this, however, and jumped away back closer to the middle of the clearing. This, it seemed, was a mistake, as there was a conveniently placed explosive tag right were he planned to land.

Before he could alter his course, or, indeed, even touch the paper, it was set off remotely, and he was ricocheted into the air. _'That was Ino's doing, no doubt…'_ Naruto took this opportunity to fly through another set of seals before extending his right hand toward the airborne jounin, and shouting, "**RAITON: DENKI IMOCHI**** (Lightning Release: Electric Blast)**" His fingers and thumb crackled with electricity for a moment before the electricity came together at a point, which then fired a small-ish bolt of lightning at Hayate.

Deciding, that if he didn't start falling soon, he was going to end up out of the training area, Hayate was just about to try and take matters into his own hands when a searing pain struck his side and spread through his being. Recognizing it as a weak Raiton technique, he had little choice but to sit there and take it as the lingering lightning dissipated, and he finally began his dissent.

Naruto watched as Hayate landed on the ground with relative ease, considering he had just been blown up then hit by lightning, albeit a small amount of it. "I'm impressed, Naruto. Lightning AND Wind? I'll just assume for the moment that you have a significant affinity for them both, if you bothered to learn them, am I correct?" Naruto nodded, grinning. If he hadn't known that he had an affinity for those chakra elements when Sarutobi definitely had, he figured that the swordsman also didn't know about him being able to use fire jutsu, as well. Naruto grabbed his blades out of the ground and ran at his sensei again, both swords ready to strike from right to left. The sound of blades clashing twice is heard before Naruto uses the momentum from his swings to spin around and place his hands (and consequentially, his blades) flush with the ground and sprung upwards, launching both feet into Hayate's chin.

The jounin, after a short trip through the air, landed on his feet, wiping the blood from his mouth. This was, of course, before he noticed the explosive tag beneath his legs, which sent him on yet another flight. He and the sky were quickly becoming good friends. Hayate rose to his feet, having landed in a kneeling position. _'Incorporating taijutsu focused on the legs and agility into his kenjutsu. Kid really knows how to keep you on your toes.'_ He mused. _'Not to mention the perception that Ino obviously has. I never even notice her throw in a tag, and it's always right where I'm about to land.'_ "Very, very nice! Let's see you counter this!" Hayate stuck his sword into the ground, before flashing through a moderate amount of hand signs. "**Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu**** (Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu).**" The water in the river next to them burst up and took the shape of a giant serpentine dragon, before rearing back to strike Naruto.

Forgoing secrecy for the moment, he hovered his blades with his Tendrils, and formed a cross with two fingers from each hand. The sign wasn't even held in place long enough for Hayate to register what it was, until two clones, each with their katanas still sheathed, appeared beside Naruto. Each Naruto, one hovering swords, flew through the same set of seals. "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu**** (Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu)**!" They each said in unison before taking a deep breath and putting the two fingers of their left hand up to their lips. Three giant fireballs flew hurtling towards the water dragon, each jutsu negating the other in a fit of steam.

Naruto had his swords in his grasp once more, never letting them leave his hands for very long, even to perform a jutsu. He silently dashed through the steam, until he saw the dull shadow of Hayate in a defensive stance. Naruto, through years of successful pranks, was arguably the best genin at stealth if he really wanted to be. So it was no surprise to anyone (except maybe Hayate) when Naruto found himself underneath the jounin's guard, and gave him a swift back-spin kick to the man's cheek with his heel. The resulting grunt was followed by another, lighter voiced grunt, as Naruto had just been given a hand with the situation. Trouble was, that hand was in a fist, and connected to his stomach.

A small gust of wind that seems to be quite common in the shinobi world for clearing sudden bursts of smoke, decided to announce itself. The steam vanished, and Hayate was getting a bit mad at himself for holding back so much. "I should really stop underestimating you, kid! It could get me killed." Hayate grinned. Even for his first time as an instructor, he felt he was doing a good job at keeping things lighthearted while still being serious. Naruto thought so, too.

"I was wondering when you were going to kick it up to academy level stuff!"

Hayate twitched. He had been fighting at what he thought was Chuunin level. Now he was pissed. "Okay. I'm pissed now." With no room to blink, he began a swift barrage of sword attacks and punches, with a knee thrown in here or there.

Naruto couldn't help but be a bit afraid, even though everything was going like Shika said it would, Naruto was having trouble keeping up, and had already been hit several times by a palm thrust to the shoulder, and a couple of knees.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched slightly as the memories of his clone entered his mind unexpectedly, earning him another knee to the abdomen that he could have avoided. Apparently Ino hadn't taken its hand accidentally brushing her ass very well, and had punched it. Naruto sighed, at least they were done with the trap. Now came the real part of Shikamaru's plan.

Naruto began moving toward a pincer-like formation of trees that partially separated this clearing from another. He kept walking, rolling, or dodging backward, periodically dispelled clones telling him where to go.

Finally, a dozen flashes of red disappeared behind his sensei, and he knew his part was nearly over. It didn't matter to him that his was pretty much the only part, he had volunteered for this role, after all. He jumped back with the help of a little lightning chakra, surprising Hayate long enough for Naruto to blow through a few seals. "**Fuuton: Daitoppa!**" He put less chakra in it than last time, simply buffeting the jounin and blowing back the top layer of dirt around him. But that was the intention. When Hayate opened his eyes, he was met with an interesting sight. He found himself surrounded by explosive tags. He was about to smirk and jump away when he heard the "TH-TH-THUNK" of several kunai imbedding themselves into tree, and a slightly more unfamiliar "TWANG."

Jounin sensei Hayate Joharo looked up.

Jounin sensei Hayate Joharo looked around him.

Jounin sensei Hayate Joharo did not like what he saw.

Above him was a web of wires, obviously tripwires for a trap, and around him was the field of tags. "So you got me in a stalemate, that doesn't mean you won!" He tried to point at Naruto mockingly. He failed. Hayate looked down and saw his shadow connected to another shadow. _'How could I forget his teammates?'_ "Still just a stalemate, guys—" He stopped when Naruto did the same, single handsign as earlier, and a couple dozen clones poofed into existence. Each clone went through the same five hand signs, before stretching out their arms and pointed to the ground. Two dozen voices calmly said, "**Raiton: Denki Imochi**." Streams of electricity shot out at the explosive tags, neutralizing and incinerating them. A path cleared, the real Naruto walked up to Hayate, who was currently gathering chakra. Naruto noticed this, and remembered what Shikamaru had said about being able to escape the **Kagemane**** (Shadow Possession)** if you knew how. Naruto quickly rummaged through the jounin's flak jacket, and grasped the scroll.

"NARUTO, LOOK OUT!" Ino's voice. Naruto looked up and jumped away, nearly losing an arm from Hayate's swing, the scroll falling to the ground between them. The two looked at each other for a moment, then at the scroll, back to each other, then back to the scroll. Hayate lunged for it, but Naruto was faster. Or, at least this time, smarter. He had a Tendril whip out and grab the scroll before slinging it back into his hand.

Hayate stood there, dumbfounded. Even as Ino and Shikamaru jumped out to the trees to join in the jinchuriki's celebration, he could only stand there. His surprise was short-lived, however, as something came to mind, and he decided he should voice it. "That was… Quite the plan, there. Though it seemed Naruto did all the work, and I only saw the final result. Would you mind explaining it to me?" Hayate sheathed his long blade and sat down on the ground, motioning for them to do the same.

Shika smiled. "Gladly. I found Ino waiting for you to stop moving so she could use **Shintenshin no Jutsu**** (Mind Transfer Jutsu)** on you. I told her it wouldn't work, and we left to find Naruto. We quickly came up with a plan."

**-FLASHBACK NO JUTSU-**

_Shikamaru, Naruto, and Ino were all gathered in a circle, Naruto clones standing at a lookout. Shikamaru spoke first. "Someone will remain here and set up a field of explosives, as well as an overhead net trap. One person needs to be the distraction and the bait, this time."_

"_I can handle that." Naruto volunteered._

_Shika nodded. "Good. You're going to need to stall him long enough for everything to be in position. Ino will assist you from the sidelines once I'm at the point where I need to make a path through the tags. It needs to be random, so that Hayate-sensei doesn't get suspicious. Naruto, leave a few clones here to help guide you through the path when you lure him in, got it?"_

"_Yeah, I got it."_

_Ino spoke up. "Why is Naruto the only one in harm's way? Doesn't seem right just throwing him in there."_

"_Oh, Ino! I had no idea you cared about me so much!" Naruto feigned shock, putting his hands over his heart. This, of course, earned him a knock to the head from a blushing blonde._

"_Shut up, baka!"_

"_Owww… Look, I can handle myself. If it makes you feel better, I'll have a clone send a messenger to you every few minutes to tell you how I'm doing; that fair?"_

"_Fine, whatever."_

"_Can I continue, please? Thank you." Shika sighed. "Ino, the reason he's going out there is because he is the best at close-range combat out of all of us. The only thing we can do is basic shinobi skills and our clan jutsu. I don't know about you, but I was never even good at the academy style taijutsu. Now, Naruto, try not to get too beat up out there. Ino, don't get caught when you're helping Naruto, I might need you if something goes wrong with the trap."_

_Naruto got up and dusted off his knees before making a generous amount of clones for the plan, and ran off to find Hayate._

**-FLASHBACK, KAI-**

Hayate nodded, impressed that they worked as a team so well already. He was pretty sure it was mostly due to Naruto's easy-going attitude, and Shikamaru's natural leadership. "Well, obviously, you all pass." This got him a couple of enormous grins, and one satisfied smirk. "Why don't you open the scroll for your reward?"

They looked at him, and Naruto unraveled the paper with a flick of his wrist. Taped to the inside at the very beginning were three sheets of chakra paper, which Naruto ignored, while Shikamaru and Ino grabbed a piece. The next thing they saw were three identical seals, each one with the kanji for chakra in the middle, which Naruto eagerly unsealed.

"Those," Hayate said, referring to the recently unsealed scrolls in their hands, "are chakra control exercises. Depending on your reserves, you may want to skip the first one, the leaf balance, cause it's meant for academy students. We just haven't implemented it for a while."

The three nodded in understanding. The academy has been for the textbooks lately, not actual ninja training.

"Ino, Shikamaru, you gonna use those and show us what you are?" Hayate gestured to the chakra paper still gripped in their hands.

Seeing their confusion, Naruto decided to jump in. "Channel some chakra into them, and they will tell you what element your chakra is most attributed to."

Ino did so, and the paper instantly turned soggy. "Water?"

Naruto nodded, before looking at Shikamaru. "Why haven't you done it yet?"

Shikamaru looked over at him before sighing. "The Nara clan has this darkness in them that allows them to manipulate shadows, which we call the void. It's part of our Kage Sosa Bloodline. The void keeps us from using elemental jutsu, which is why my clan has developed so many different jutsu using just shadows."

Hayate was smiling. "Quite the well rounded team, then! I'm primarily a Doton user, so we've got the five main elements, and a Shadow Manipulator." He looked at each genin individually. "We will be a force to be reckoned with!"

AN: WOOT! Bet you guys liked it, huh? I was going to put a whole fuck of a lot more fighting in there, but I wanted to get the message across that Hayate was new at this, so he vastly underestimates the kids.

Kage Sosa is, literally, Shadow Manipulation in Japanese. Its what I decided to call the Nara family bloodline, since I couldn't find the name. btw, yes, that void thing is real. They talk about it in the manga, and no, none of them can learn elemental jutsu. So boo for them. But boo for others, too, cause they can't make shadows jump into the air and pierce an enemy's heart. (Shadow stitching.) I'll keep writing, don't worry! xD


	6. Chapter 6

AN: YO! Been a while since I wrote in this but school wipes you out every day at first, and I've been sleeping.

Hope you guys liked last chapter, I know the fighting was kinda rushed, but still. I wanted to get the point across that Hayate was still childish and excitable, most likely a recently appointed jounin. Also, I apologize for spelling mistakes in Japanese words, if there are any. Its hard to notice them when even spelled right, Word marks it wrong, and I'm too lazy to add most of them to its dictionary.

Wave Arc starts here.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, if I did, Sasuke's hair would be raped by male ducks every episode.

Chapter 6 –

"This is Whiskers, I am pursuing target, requesting head-off. Can you comply? Over."

A voice crackled over the radio set on his ear and neck. "Rose here, I am 50 meters to your 1:00, ready for interception. Over."

Another, uncharacteristically annoyed voice sparked to life in the blonde boy's earpiece. "Troublesome… I'm too far away right now, looks like it's up you two."

"Roger that, Shade. We'll take care of it." Ino, codename Rose, replied. She had been given the name by Naruto, actually. He reasoned that it was perfect for her, as a rose was beautiful and sought after, but the thorns they hold are quite dangerous, and can kill you if you get caught in a bush of them. Ino had blushed discreetly for both sides of the comment, and thanked Naruto for the name with a rare smile.

Naruto ran after their target. He was a fast little bastard, but Naruto had been training with Lightning chakra every day since their test 3 weeks ago. The past few days he had even been going around with a constant Gravity Seal on his black muscle shirt to train his strength as well as speed.

Naruto didn't release this seal, he knew he was catching up to their target with it on. Seeing a flash of faded blonde and a barely noticeable dark purple blur, he put on a burst of speed, making as much noise as possible to change the course of the fleeing adversary.

A yelp not far away told him Ino had encountered the monster, and raced off toward her. He broke through into a conveniently placed clearing, he saw Ino, three scratch marks on each cheek. A moment later, he saw the imposing figure of the enemy rear back and jump at his teammate, pulling for another strike.

Reacting more than thinking, he released his Gravity Seal, and jumped forward. The claws on the monster sliced his neck, a steady trickle of blood beginning to fall. Before he could to anything about it, however, the target struck out once more, this time latching onto Naruto's jacket with two of its appendages, and cutting at everything it could reach with the other two. Naruto, finally having enough after getting his face, neck, and hands about as cut as can be without losing flesh, whipped out two Chakra Tendrils and wrapped them around his attacker, pulling him off and suspending him in midair.

Ino looked at Tora, the Fire Daymio's cat, as it spat and hissed in Naruto's Tendrils. It seemed even more agitated around him, but that was expected. Naruto had told his team after the first weak of his tenant. Shikamaru had finally gotten his answer to several questions, and was quite satisfied with the information.

Ino, however, had been slightly less sedate about it. She had cringed, and stepped back when he told her, honestly scared for her life for a moment. Short enough to be an expected reaction before reason took over, but long enough to make Naruto's face fall.

**-FLASHBACK NO JUTSU-**

_Ino looked at him, but all she saw was the shadow of the Kyuubi behind him. This didn't last long, though. She looked into Naruto's eyes, eyes filled with sorrow that only losing a precious person can cause. Ino blushed. The thought that she was one of the jinchuriki's precious people overrode her fear long enough to see something else in the illusion it had created for her. The giant fox was behind bars, a key on a heavy chain around Naruto's neck. Ino smiled warmly. He was the jailer, not the criminal._

_Naruto looked up, startled by the arms wrapping around him. Ino had her face buried in his shoulder, crying silently for his burden. "Naruto… You're just that. Naruto. You're not the Kyuubi, and you never will be." She pulled back slightly, just barely enough to look him in the eye. "We'll all be here for you if you need us, so no more secrets, got it?"_

_Naruto grinned, and returned the hug. "Okay, Ino. I promise I'll always tell you if something is wrong."_

_Ino stepped back, leaving the embrace. "Good. Now let's get back to training!"_

_**-FLASHBACK NO JUTSU, KAI!-**_

Ino blushed at the memory, watching the scratches on Naruto's face heal almost instantly, the large one on his neck taking slightly longer to close up.

Naruto spoke into his mic. "Sensei, the monster is in possession. And if we have to catch this thing a seventh time, I WILL kill it."

"I agree, Naruto, but there's not much we can do about it right now. Meet at the Hokage Tower. Out."

Ino and Naruto began walking back to the village, where Shikamaru joined them. Ino suppressed a giggle at the sight of the bird that was sitting in Shika's hair. Naruto pretty much ignored it. He knew how spiky hair makes for an attractive nest for birds.

It finally left the lazy genin when they entered the Hokage Tower, but not before sending the Sandaime's secretary into a fit of laughter.

A single word was uttered before they entered the office, which was, indeed, the command to enter said office.

Hayate was there already, as was Iruka and, of course, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Once the trade-off with the Fire Daymio's wife was complete, Hiruzen was about to reach for the D-rank mission pile, when Hayate, of all people, started to throw a hissy fit.

"Hokage-sama! Don't you think these _civilian chores_ are too tedious for such skilled genin? Ino is the best explosives artist and trapper of all the current genin, and most of the chunin! Shikamaru is most certainly the best strategist under jounin rank! I would bet an A-rank mission's pay that Naruto could beat anyone in his graduating class, and I don't know anyone below jounin that knows more about ninjutsu or fuuinjutsu than him. Hokage-sama, please, I request a higher level mission!" He finished with a bow.

Team 12 couldn't believe it. Not only had their sensei just praised them highly, but while it was all most likely true, it was inappropriate to act that way in front of the Hokage. Naruto decided to diffuse the situation. Being on the Sandaime's good side was always useful for him, so he decided to play it.

"Old man, Hayate-sensei is right! Over the past week, we have completed every D-rank you give us with such high marks, that a few villagers have been telling me that they were going to request us personally next time! While I am flattered, doesn't that show that we are ready for something better? Just a little better, like a C-rank?"

Iruka was about to scold his former student for addressing the Hokage that way, when Hiruzen laughed. "Well, if you all feel so strongly about it, why don't I give you what you want? A C-rank escort mission to a town in the Wave Country. You can come in, now." That last bit was directed at the door, which soon opened.

In walked Tazuna, a short, drunk man with a sharp beard. "These are my escorts? Looks like a bunch of weak kids, and the tall one doesn't look much better."

He was suddenly lifted into the air by two hands wrapped around his shirt, Hayate and Naruto saying simultaneously, "WHY YOU-"

That was as far as they got, though. Ino had them both floored with a knock to the head, sighing at how similar her teammate and sensei were.

Tazuna, slightly scared of the girl who was not afraid to pummel her sensei, shut up immediately.

Hayate was the first to regain composure. "Right, Tazuna-san, team, meet at the Village gate in an hour. Pack for two weeks." And with that he shushined out of the office.

Shikamaru left Naruto and Ino first, his home being in a different direction.

"Hey, Naruto, think you can help me pack? It would really suck if I had to bring a giant backpack for everything, and you are the resident seal master." She had hoped to butter him into helping her, but it wasn't necessary.

Naruto shook his head. "Sorry, Ino, but I can't be qualified as a seal master until I invent my own, original seal. But I will help you." He finished with his signature grin.

Ino smiled, before leading him to her home. He knew where it was, already; it sat on top of her families flower shop. She brought him upstairs to her room, and began rummaging around for her camping gear. He took in her room. The walls were white, and adorned with pictures. Ones of her at several ages with her family, a few of her and Sakura, and their team photo was hanging by the door. Naruto smiled at the photo, Shikamaru was looking off to the right somewhere, he himself was waving his Chakra Tendrils around menacingly, the effect ruined by Hayate holding up four fingers in pairs behind his head, intending to make it look like he had fox ears (this was after Naruto had told them of his burden), but Ino was the only normal one in the frame, looking right at the camera, smiling gently. Her bed was made, purple blankets and pillows ready to be used, plush toys nearly covering the thing. Her dresser, painted white with a purple stripe down each side, had several explosives and kunai on it, and a single, elegantly framed photo sitting on it. It was of Ino and him, sitting at Ichiraku Ramen, after he had convinced her to try it.

"I'm kind of glad you forced me to try Teuchi's ramen." Ino startled him out of his thoughts. "I think I started falling in love there."

Naruto grinned. "Yeah, the look on your face when the noodles hit your tongue was proof of that."

Ino smiled. He didn't quite get it, but that's okay. Hell, she didn't even get it.

20 minutes later, Naruto had shown her a few basic storage seals, and she now had her sleeping bag and things tucked away in her one of her utility pouches. She thought back to how Naruto had told her that she should wear two, and that way she would be able to carry all of her explosives and traps. It had been a godsend during their last sparring match. She still lost, but at a much lower margin.

After stating that he always carried a month's worth of supplies with him, they decided to just wait at the gate for their sensei and Tazuna. Shikamaru was already asleep against a post.

Ino had noticed in her room how warm he was. It was a soothing, sedative warmth that just emanated from him, and she wanted more of it.

Naruto sat down next to the open giant door, and closed his eyes. He suddenly felt an unfamiliar weight on his lap, and looked down. Ino was laying on his lap with her back to him, trying to cuddle deeper into his arms. He smiled. This wasn't the first time she had put herself in close contact with him, and after seeing all of the plushies in her room, he figured she must not like to feel alone. Wrapping his left arm around her waist, he pulled her closer and started stroking her silky hair. For the life of him, he still couldn't identify the smell. Her hair has this salty scent, with an undertone of what he associated with the rivers around Konoha, but mostly it was this thing he couldn't describe. He loved it.

Ino was ascending to heaven, at the moment. Not only was she getting an extreme dose of that intoxicating warmth she loved so much, but he was holding her even closer and petting her hair! This continued for about a half-hour, before they were interrupted.

"Okay team, all up! We're moving out." Hayate said, kicking Shikamaru in the foot to get him up.

Ino, a bit reluctantly, stood from her seat and took her position, seeing Naruto do the same.

The blonde jinchuriki was silent the first few minutes into the walk, before passing a very special tree, and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Before he even realized he had said it aloud, everyone around him heard him say in a quite voice, "Farthest I've ever been… Thought I'd feel more excited."

Ino looked at him with a sad face, before making a mental promise to talk to him the first time they stopped for the night. Cheering up a bit, she stepped carefully around the puddle in the middle of the road.

AN: MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! If any of you remember the next scene in the canon, your seriously pissed at me right now. As you probably guessed by now, this will be a NaruIno fanfic. Idk why, but I really like that pairing. There will be no lemons until after the timeskip I have planned (sooner than you think, i promise. there WILL be lime before that, though so be patient!), and I am still on the fence about the CRA. Downside is, I had this great idea for a bloodline, too, but that would, by fanon, automatically put him under the CRA. Soo….. yeah.

bit of a lag in upcoming chapters, as i am preoccupied with other sotries, as well. Ja ne!


	7. Chapter 7

AN: WOO! We are BACK with Blades, baby! My advanced planning has hit a bump. How am I going to incorporate the Rasengan into Naruto's arsenal? WELL I FOUND THE ANSWER! I'm not going to TELL you, but I've found it.

A little insight: Hayate is NOT canon Hayate, and is NOT related to him. I'm sorry for the confusion I apparently caused, but I totally forgot that Gekko Hayate(canon) even existed. So, without further ado, let me introduce you all to OC Jounin sensei Joharo Hayate, primary element: Doton. Secondary element: Suiton. Kenjutsu user, equipping a long, single-edge blade, mounted on the back. Okay? Okay.

Also, thank you guys, I was so surprised about all of the alerts, favorites, and reviews! I feel so loved!

Btw, I've decided against the harem for this. The bloodline I was going to give him was too mary-sue, anyways, no matter how original it would have been.

WAVE ENDS TODAY!

Disclaimer: do I really need to do this at this point? … The lawyers say yes. I do not own Naruto.

~*~HJN~*~

Chapter 7 –

Naruto spun around, blades drawn to see Hayate already fighting off the intruders. It was immediately apparent that they were not simple bandits, as they had already made a good gash in Hayate's shoulder with their strange claw-gauntlets.

Naruto ran towards them, rearing back to strike the larger one in the kidneys. The smaller one saw this, and deflected the strike, swinging his claw to impale the blonde. It was then that Naruto noticed the shredder chain that the two were connected with. Promptly deciding to make this as long-range a fight as possible, he jumped to dodge the claw and kicked off of Smalls' face, flipping back next to Ino, who was currently in a ready stance to defend Tazuna should either enemy get past Hayate. Shikamaru was raining kunai down on the strangers, each projectile embedding harmlessly in their many layers of fur.

Naruto looked at the chain, which was currently being used to fling one or the other attacker into Hayate. Sheathing his blades, he flew through a set of handsigns. "Raiton: Aku Muchi! **(Lightning: Arc Whip)**" Sparks traveled down his right arm, before they concentrated and a burst of almost liquid lightning poured out of his hand. Snapping the cord of plasma like a whip, he flung it at the brothers. It wrapped around Smalls, electrocuting him. But the chain between them carried the charge over to Bigs and shocked him as well. Leaving his friend to his fate, Bigs detached the chain connecting them from his own gauntlet. The jutsu dissipated before Smalls could be harmed severely, but he was smoking.

Turning to the large one, Smalls shouted, "Brother! Get the bridge builder!" Then Bigs, now revealed to be related, left the fight with Hayate, and swatted Shikamaru out of the way. Running at Tazuna, Ino reacted first. Standing her ground, she shoved a kunai deep into his pelt, finally managing to pierce his skin. A minor spatter of blood fell to the ground, as well as a small clump of faded blonde hair.

Ino looked down. Her ponytail was about six inches shorter than it had been. Ino looked back up at the brother, who was already in a close-combat fight with Naruto. "He cut my hair… THAT BASTARD CUT MY HAIR!" Ino looked over at Shikamaru, lying unconscious on the ground, and did a quick math equation. There wasn't enough people to do everything if she went and helped to kill Bigs. So she did the next best thing. "NARUTO! KILL THAT ASSHOLE! KILL HIM NOW, HE MUST BE PUNISHED!"

Naruto grinned, only too happy to comply. Sheathing his golden blade with one Tendril, and using another to fight off Bigs with his silver blade, he unsealed a scroll from his sash. Opening the scroll, he bit his pinky, which had long since become his writing finger, and with a flick of the wrist, he finished the partial seal on the inside of the scroll. Closing the paper once more, he formed a few handsigns, and slammed the scroll to the ground. "Sealing Art: Execution Barrier!" A yellow wall of light spurt up around Bigs, closing into a dome at the top. "You can't escape from that. It blocks chakra. The only way you're getting out of there is if you're dead. Fortunately, I can make that happen. You see the barrier only works one way."

The brother's eyes widened in realization, but it was too late. Clouds of smoke appeared around him, and he was suddenly surrounded by 13 instances of the blonde in front of him. Four of them at the corners made the same seals before pointing their palms at him. Four voices said "Raiton: Denki Imochi." Four lightning bolts phased through the barrier, and struck him.

When he recovered, four more clones raised both arms at him. "Fuuton: Shippu Sessaku. **(Wind: Cutting Gale)**" Wind flew at him, cutting his clothes, skin, and slicing the bits of metal all over him.

Once more, he looked up, panting. Four more were making handsigns. Before taking in a breath, they all said "Katon: Shakunetsu no Kasho. **(Fire: Scorching Burns)**" Yellow fire burst from their mouths, engulfing him for a moment before the weak attack died down. Battered, and nearly dead, he watched as the real Naruto moved into the barrier and took out both of his blades. Crossing them in front of him, he placed the edges against his neck. "May Shinigami have mercy on your soul." He jerked his arms apart, severing the life-long friendship the man's head had with his body.

The barrier fell, and he looked over to find that Hayate had knocked out Smalls, and was currently tying him up to a tree. "Alright," said the Jounin, "Why were these missing ninja after you, Tazuna-san?"

~~HJN~~**LAZY AUTHOR STYLE: TIMESKIP NO JUTSU; CANON INFORMATION VERSION**~~HJN~~

Naruto walked on in the lead, two nuke-nin's heads sealed into a scroll in his sash. Ino was more alert now, he noticed. Shikamaru was just as disinterested as before, though.

Hayate had asked Naruto why he had learned all of those weaker jutsu he had used on the older Demon Brother. It was simple, really. "Torture. Interrogation. Humiliation. Any one of those are valid answers. Don't worry, sensei. I've got stronger ones, too."

Hayate nodded. At least the kid knew the value of a dollar. Or jutsu, in this case.

Naruto kept leading the group for a while longer, before he saw a movement in the bushes. He tensed for a moment, before a white rabbit jumped out, looking quite afraid. Understandable, seeing as Naruto had just drawn a kunai at its presence.

Naruto relaxed, and let the bunny pass. "Sorry. I tho-"

Hayate grabbed Tazuna and Shikamaru, yelling, "GET DOWN!"

Naruto, being the ninja he was, responded without thought, grabbing Ino and throwing the two of them to the ground.

A rush of wind, a THUNK, and Shikamaru peeked his head up. "That's a troublesome looking sword."

The rest of the group looked up as well, and Hayate tensed visibly. "Momoichi Zabuza. One of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."

Naruto took in the man's giant zanbatou, currently stuck halfway in a tree. 'He could snap my blades in half!' "Heh. He doesn't look so tough."

It was partially true. The man had pants and suspenders, no shirt. Cow-print leg and arm-warmers were part of the obscene attire, as well.

Zabuza spoke from beneath facial bandages. "Hand over the bride-builder. I only want him dead, you four don't interest me."

Naruto and Hayate jumped up and said in unison, "JUST TRY AND TAKE HIM, COW-LOVER!" (AN: It sounds better in Japanese culture and language, I'm sure… ^^')

Zabuza sighed. "Very well." Throwing handsigns together, he said "Kinjutsu: Kirigakureta no Jutsu. **(Forbidden art: Hidden Mist Jutsu)**"

Fine water particles surrounded the area, destroying any hopes of seeing the enemy, or indeed, one's comrades. Hayate shouted out an order to protect the bridge builder before Zabuza's voice could be heard from every direction. "Liver, kidneys, lungs, throat, head, spine, heart. Which one should I remove first?"

A rush of wind, and Hayate was knocking a giant head cleaver away from the group, engaging in kenjutsu with the man.

Naruto watched them, keeping his senses open. "Shika, come with me. Ino, stay here and guard Tazuna-san." Receiving nods, he crept around the fighting, Shikamaru behind him, until they were at the water. "Shika, I'm leaving you fifty clones to figure out a way to defeat this guy, while I go help sensei."

The Nara grabbed Naruto's arm before he could turn. "Are you nuts? This was your idea? Have me throw together some ramshackle plan while you use your stamina, regeneration, and unending luck to fend off the Demon of the Hidden Mist?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Just think of it as our team test, only without Ino. I'll be the distraction and the bait, and you set up the trap!"

"BUT INO FIGURED OUT MOST OF THE TRAP! SHE'S THE TRAPPER, I'M JUST A TACTICIAN!"

"Shhhhh! They'll hear you!"

But it was too late. Zabuza may have been distracted by Hayate, but nobody, especially not him, the Head-Hunter Assassin, could miss their screams. Naruto drew both of his blades, fending off the giant zanbatou that had tried to separate his left half from his right. "SHIKAMARU, NOW WOULD BE NICE!"

"Ninpo: Kagemane no Jutsu!" The strange non-sound of a shadow bending could be un-heard by all as Naruto relaxed. Zabuza was frozen in place, blinking rapidly.

Hayate moved over to the three, panting slightly. "Good job, Shikamaru. Now we just-"

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Shi- I can't hold him!"

"GAH- ooh…."

"NARUTOOOO!"

~~HJN~~

"…..never wakes up?" A worried, female voice proclaimed, only half of the sentence reaching Naruto's waking ears.

"Don't be ridiculous," said a male voice, "he's shown no sign of dying or being in a coma since we got here. He'll pull through. I'm going downstairs for dinner, you should join me." Hearing no response, he heard the boy get up from his left side and open and close a door, seemingly having left.

Naruto took stock of his body, his eyes were taking much longer to open than he would have liked. He could feel a dull-ish pain in his chest and abdomen, which were seemingly bandaged. He had no shirt on, but all of his limbs seemed to be intact. Someone was holding his right hand with both of theirs, and he could feel one presence in the room, the girl he had heard earlier. Finally, his eyes started to open just a tiny bit, and he was glad they did. He feared if they had waited any longer, this vision of beauty might not have been there. But she was, with long, straight blonde hair, dark, deep blue eyes and some of the most perfect skin he had ever witnessed. The only problem was that her face was tear-stained, her eyes red and puffy.

Sleepily, he lifted his left hand to wipe away a fresh tear beginning to fall. "Sadness doesn't befit beauty…"

Ino jerked her head up, eyes wide. "You're awake.. Oh, thank Kami, you're awake!" She let go of his hand, only to grab the rest of him in a hug.

Naruto grimaced. "Ino-chan, while I really am glad you're so happy, my chest and stomach hurts, right now, and you're not helping any."

She let go and paled. "Oh, no, I didn't open the wound, did I?" Not waiting for an answer, she started pulling at the bandages, unwrapping them.

"Wound? What woun- oh. That wound." He was staring at a giant scar that had just popped back open in several places, stretching from below his naval to his right pectoral. It had just missed his nipple and bellybutton. As they looked, the open bits closed back up with a hiss, steam broiling from the scar as it continued to disappear. "And where, pray tell, did I get this?"

Ino looked up at him, surprised. "You don't remember? Zabuza broke free from Shikamaru's jutsu, and ran you through with that sword. After that, though, Hayate-sensei and him had a huge battle, blades clashing in every direction, Suiton and Doton jutsu flying everywhere. Eventually sensei knocked Zabuza into a tree with a move that rolled the earth around like something was burrowing under it, and Zabuza was killed and taken away by a Kiri Hunter-nin that had been tracking him, right before Hayate-sensei collapsed. We got you and Hayate to Tazuna's house, you've been out cold for two days, now."

Naruto sat there for a moment, running this through his head. "And… I'm not dead, right?"

Ino smiled. "No. Thank Kami, no."

Naruto muttered under his breath, "More like thank Kyuubi…" Turning to Ino, he posed a question. "So is sensei okay? You said he collapsed."

Ino waved aside a dismissing gesture. "Oh, he just used too much chakra with that sword of his. He'll be fine in another day. Now, though, let's see about getting you cleared for duty, huh?" She finished with a teasing smile.

Naruto chuckled. "Right. Test away, nurse!"

It took a while, but eventually Ino declared Naruto 'back to his old reckless, indestructible self.'

Naruto got dressed, leaving his swords in the room and went down with Ino to enjoy a late dinner, and to meet Tazuna's family.

~~HJN~~

"Hey wait a minute. Ino, what did you mean, sensei used too much chakra with his sword?"

The girl looked up at her blonde counterpart. "Oh, that's right, you were dying. Well, sensei did something to his sword after you passed out. It got coated in dirt, and started spreading some kind of mold or rust or something across Zabuza's sword every time they clashed. Whatever it was, it must have been heavy, cause Zabuza got really slow after that, like his sword was weighing him down for once. Anyway, apparently it takes a lot of chakra, cause he's recovering from chakra depletion right now."

Naruto let the subject drop. 'I wonder if he can teach me to do something similar with my blades…'

~~HJN~~

The rest of the day was awkward for Naruto. Not really knowing what to do on guard duty, since Hayate believed that Zabuza might not be dead, he resigned himself to watching the workers on the bridge. 'It seems like more and more have been leaving the project…' Naruto got up and walked over to Tazuna, who was currently going over plans. "Hey, is there anything I can do to help?"

Tazuna turned to the blonde and quirked an eyebrow. "Well, it's true we are short on hands right now, but I don't think one kid is going to be much help."

Naruto grinned. "How about a hundred?" Crossing his fingers in his signature jutsu, he announced "TAJUU KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

The bridge was covered in hundreds of Narutos, all waiting for orders. The real Naruto looked to Tazuna and clapped him on the shoulder. "They're all yours!"

Tazuna snapped out of his daze and let a small smile slip through. He addressed the clones, "Alright! This is how it's going to work!"

Naruto left them, letting the clones get to work while he went back to guard duty. 'Well, I feel a little more useful, now. Sensei said he'd show us a new technique tomorrow, so at least I have that to look forward to.'

~~HJN~~

Naruto cheered from atop the tree, triumphant. "HAHA! INO-CHAN! You ROCK!"

Ino blushed and smiled from her spot on the ground. "Hey, Shikamaru gave you pointers, too, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, but I didn't understand his! You made it easy for me! You should be a teacher or something!" He said, before jumping down right in front of her. "Come on, Kirei, let's go. Tsunami must have dinner done by now, and you know how much she hates lateness."

Ino blushed at the compliment and followed him down the path back to the house. Tomorrow, thanks to Naruto, the bridge would be finished.

~~HJN~~

Inari watched his savior leave for the bridge. He and his mom were safe, the two thugs were dead. That was something he never thought Naruto would do. He had killed them almost instantly, a blade through the heart for each of them. All because they were going to rape his mother. He could understand wanting them dead, but doing it himself… Before today, the thought would never have crossed Inari's mind.

"Mom, stay here. It's time our village pried itself out from under Gatou's thumb!" Not waiting for an answer, he charged out the door into town.

~~HJN~~

Naruto landed to a depressing sight. Ino was trapped in a dome made of ice rectangles, multiple senbon stuck in her body. From the looks of it, she had already emptied her water scrolls for jutsu, and there were scorch marks everywhere, as though the ice had stood up to her explosives, too.

Hayate was fending off Zabuza, whose sword must have been cleaned, as it looked pristine. Shikamaru was next to Tazuna, shadow spread out in all directions in preemptive defense.

"HAYATE-SENSEI! Is your sword Hirian?"

Hayate pushed back Zabuza for the umpteenth time for some breathing room. "YES, WHY DO YOU ASK?"

Naruto drew his blades and looked at them, muttering, "No reason…"

Naruto looked at the ice dome, Ino was being pelted by more and more senbon. 'She could use the most help. Let's see, from what Iruka-sensei taught us, Raiton is strong against Suiton, weak against Fuuton, Katon is strong against Fuuton, weak against Suiton. So this will either cancel the ice, or give me a deep-tissue insta-freeze. Assuming it works at all.'

Running at the dome, he charged his chakra, pushing it into his blades. Blue energy swirled around them, and time seemed to slow down. He could feel excitement, and happiness, but not from him. From his swords, he could sense that they were excited about what he was doing. His right hand vibrated with energy, his left pulsed with warmth. Fire spread along the golden blade, curling and flickering with heat. Lightning arced across the silver blade, dancing and chirping with life. Reaching the first ice mirror, he forced as much Wind chakra as he could into sharpening the two short swords, and thrust them into the ice.

There was a resounding CRACK! And everyone stopped. Cracks spider-webbed out from the points of impact, snapping and breaking the ice. The mirror shattered, taking the others with it. Haku was forced out of her own jutsu, landing on the ground and breaking her mask.

Naruto let his arms fall, breath heaving. 'I did it. That was amazing…' He could feel his blades were exhausted, as well, which would have made no sense, had they not been Hirian weapons.

Haku got up, battered and broken from her jutsu ending to abruptly. She could feel herself fading, and saw Naruto in his tired state. Pulling a kunai forgotten on the ground, she sprang at him.

Naruto looked up, hearing his name called. "NARUTOO!"

Ino materialized in front of him, and a spray of blood could be seen. Ino slumped to the ground, kunai knife buried in her chest. Haku fell to the ground then, the last of her chakra beginning to leave her.

Over to the side, Zabuza and Hayate were being greeted by Gatou and his army of lowlifes. "Well, Zabuza, looks like you failed. Oh well. I was never going to pay you anyway, and I guess it's only slightly less convenient to deal with the situation myself. Boys, get them. Whoever brings me the bridge builder's head gets a pay raise, Zabuza's head will set you for life!"

Naruto held Ino in his arms, tears falling down his face. "Ino-chan.. Ino-chan! Get up, Ino-chan, this is no time to joke!"

Ino smiled up at him weakly. "Naruto-kun… I.. love… yo..u..." And her eyes closed to the world.

"Ino-chan! Ino-chan, I love you too! INO-CHANNNNNNN!" The last word stretched into a scream to the heavens, as red chakra gathered and swirled around him in a giant double helix. The chakra coated him in a thick, bubbly cloak, fox ears and a tail sprouting from the red energy. Hayate was extremely worried, if this progressed too far, there wasn't much he thought he could do about it. Naruto's whisker marks got more pronounced, his hair became feral. His canines elongated, and his pupils became slits, irises turning into a blood red hue. His fingernails grew longer and sharper, and he let out a very un-human roar. Chakra curved out from his forearms and grabbed his two blades, bringing them up like extensions of his body. Like the sun currently rising on the horizon, he stood to full height, turning his attention to the mob of thugs standing there in fear. Charging, he ran on all fours, blades held aloft by the chakra menacingly, ready to impale.

The thugs turned tail and ran, back into town the way they had come. Only to be faced with another army, equipped with pitchforks, rusty swords, kitchen knives, axes and crossbows. The entire village had gathered here at the bridge, and Inari was leading them. "CHAAARGE!"

The poor souls had nowhere to go. The thugs could either die by the villagers, or die by Naruto, and neither sounded very pleasant. Eventually, they were eradicated by both, Naruto would swing his claws and the swords would lash out in an arc, cutting down three or four at a time, while the villagers won by simple numbers. Zabuza had joined the fray, as well, headed right for Gatou. He sustained the most wounds out of any party, besides the thugs, of course. By the time he reached the short, scared little man, he had no arms left, and was holding his obscenely large sword in his mouth, which he then used to separate the man's head from his shoulders.

After everything, Zabuza used his last breath to apologize to a dead Haku, Ino was found savable, and Naruto had reverted to normal, helping with the cleanup. Well, his clones were. He, personally was looking after Ino, while she rested at Tazuna's house.

Naruto had just replaced her head cloth when she began to stir. "Ino-chan? Ino-chan are you there?"

"Mmm, Naruto-kun…" She moaned in her sleep. Opening her eyes, she saw the grinning blonde knucklehead that had been occupying her unconscious mind.

Naruto chuckled, and said, "Having a good dream, Ino-chan?"

Her eye widened, and her face flushed. "Na-Naruto! I-"

He laughed for a moment before bending down and planting a kiss on her lips.

Ino felt her entire body heat up, and practically melt into his lips. She closed her eyes and brought her arms up to encircle him, pressing them closer together. They could feel the passion in each other, the closeness they had both been feeling grow stronger over the last month came out and poured into the kiss.

When they broke apart for air, Ino looked up at her new man. "Wow. That was…"

"I think you got it the first time: wow." Naruto said, grinning like an idiot.

They laughed, but were forced from going any farther by a knock at the door. Shikamaru stepped in with Tsunami, and said, "The bridge is finished. We're cleared to leave if Ino is up to it."

Ino nodded, and sat up. "I feel a little stiff in the chest, but otherwise I'm good."

Naruto apparently didn't want to take any chances, though, as he picked up Ino bridal style and let Shikamaru's lazy bum take care of her belongings. Not that Ino minded, of course.

Once outside the house, Naruto stopped in his tracks, forcing the others to stop as well. "I just figured it out! I had never been to one before, so I couldn't put my finger on it, but there it is!" Naruto bent his head down and stuck his nose in Ino's hair. "You smell like the ocean, Ino-hime!"

Ino blushed heavily, but brought her head up for a kiss at the endearment. It surprised no one. Well, except one.

"You two are together? SINCE WHEN?" A very surprised Hayate exclaimed, his senbon dropping from his mouth.

Tazuna took the man's shoulder and led him towards the bridge. "Come on, I'll split a drink with you on the carriage ride across."

Ino broke off and looked over at the completed bridge. "Oh yeah, how did the fight end?"

Shikamaru gave a rare grin. "Naruto went berserk and killed everyone."

"Not EVERYONE, Shika! I killed like 5."

The Nara scoffed. "More like 105. You should have seen him, Ino, after you apparently died, he drew on what we assume to be the Kyuubi's chakra, grew a tail, and laid waste to half of Gatou's forces, who showed up around the same time you passed out. The whole thing was troublesome, not knowing if he would turn on us next, but he seemed to be in control, more or less."

Naruto frowned. "It was more. I don't know, it felt like there was even more power waiting for me to tap into, but I consciously decided on just enough to denote one tail."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Whatever. The troublesome point is that he was swinging those blades around with pure chakra, gutting some people with his claws as they cut down others. He seemed pretty upset about the thought of you dying."

Naruto blushed slightly at the look Ino was giving him, and even more at the chaste kiss he received on the cheek. "Well, I'm glad I didn't die, cause now I have a handsome, strong, caring boyfriend to protect me," she said, snuggling further into his chest.

Naruto's face split into his signature foxy grin, and he resumed his march to the bridge, where a set of carriages stood by to take them across to the mainland. By the end of the day, they would be back in Konoha, a mission payment, and a well-deserved rest waiting for them.

~*~HJN~*~

AN: YO! Finally got this out. Look at that, I just did almost all of the Wave arc in one, short chapter. HOW GREAT AM I? Or does that show that I suck…. I'll go with the first one!

Let me know of any questions, OH and when Naruto called Ino Kirei, he was literally saying, "Come on Beautiful, let's go." Kirei means Beautiful as a name.

Ja ne~


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